Chapter 118: The So-Called Kill |
Guan Shan left, and the collaboration between the two squads of the Special Security Group efficiently cleaned up everything related to Espers, reducing the cordoned-off area to just around the hospital lobby.
The other buildings, including Building No. 4, where the basement is located, were left for the cleanup crew to handle, with the hospital's director—an elderly man deceived by Xiang Wen for years—nearly having a heart attack upon hearing the news at midnight. He was tasked with notifying the hospital's doctors to come and help identify and handle some records and personal belongings.
The old medical records archive of the Sacred Heart Hospital was located in the inpatient building. With the collapse of the lobby, the adjacent rooms, including the archive, were also affected...
These were decades of medical records, all paper-based and extremely fragile. Most were destroyed, leaving the elderly director pale as he looked at the rubble-covered fragments, beginning to cross himself repeatedly.
Of course, it was fortunate that the corpses of the orderlies had already been dealt with. Otherwise, the old director wouldn't have had time for crossing himself and might have needed immediate medical attention.
Due to most orderlies being buried under the rubble, the task of sorting through these medical records fell to the doctors.
One of those doctors was Lu Qiuyu.
She received a call at dawn, saying the hospital had collapsed and Xiang Wen's crimes had been exposed. She thought it was a prank until the serious tone on the other end made her realize the gravity of the situation.
When Lu Qiuyu finally stood in front of the rubble, she couldn't help but be stunned for a long time.
Because the buildings at the Sacred Heart Hospital were indeed quite old. Although inspected annually, they could still have unexpected issues.
But with "Xiang Wen dead and his illegal human experiments exposed" added to the mix, she couldn't help but wonder.
Others might not know, but Lu Qiuyu certainly did.
There was a reporter investigating Xiang Wen in this hospital.
Could there really be such a coincidence in this world? Guan Shan was investigating Xiang Wen, claiming to have a lead, and then the hospital conveniently collapsed, exposing the evidence?
"Could that guy have collapsed the whole building just to expose Xiang Wen's crimes?"
Lu Qiuyu was startled by her own thought.
She quickly shook her head, dismissing it as absurd: "How could that be possible? Even if he wanted to, it would be incredibly difficult to execute. Did he sneak out at night and hammer the support columns?"
It was impossible for a person to achieve that!
"So, it must be a coincidence. He's just really lucky. Investigating for evidence would have taken more time, but now with this collapse, it saves a lot of effort..."
Lu Qiuyu, while sorting the old medical records, muttered to herself: "Speaking of which, even though he's a reporter, he's quite the actor. He almost fooled me into thinking he had cognitive and schizophrenia issues... He could be an actor with his looks and skills."
Thinking back to when Guan Shan vehemently denied having any illness made Lu Qiuyu chuckle. Initially thinking he had connections, he ended up inside due to an overly convincing performance. "Alas, while he's relaxed, it's us doctors who suffer from the hospital collapse. What will we do next..."
Lu Qiuyu, feeling melancholic, continued sorting through the records, pondering her future.
Most of the old records, dating back decades, were reduced to shreds and could not be recovered. What remained were the more recent records.
If the records were still in their folders, it was fine, but if they were scattered, they needed to be manually sorted, a task for professionals with a significant workload.
"Pica... Hysteria... OCD... Claustrophobia..."
Lu Qiuyu began to find some amusement in her monotonous work, mumbling the diagnoses on the records.
"This one... Depression... Suspected..."
Her voice trailed off as her eyes focused on the name on the top of the medical record.
The name was—
Guan Shan.
"Same name?"
Lu Qiuyu was taken aback, thinking it was quite amusing. Guan Shan, who had worked so hard to infiltrate Sacred Heart Hospital, had no idea that another Guan Shan had been a patient here years ago.
Curious, Lu Qiuyu continued reading: "What kind of person is this 'Guan Shan'? Why was he hospitalized?"
The record she held was an inpatient record for six months, dated six years ago, when this Guan Shan was 16 years old.
"This person should still be in high school, right? Considering today, their age should be about the same? Being hospitalized for six months means they must have taken a leave from school..."
Lu Qiuyu read on. The record indicated that this teenager, Guan Shan, was hospitalized due to mental stress from family changes, diagnosed with depression and suspected schizophrenia. He often talked to himself or remained silent in a corner but had no tendencies toward suicide or self-harm, leading to his admission.
Oddly, this teenager had come to the hospital on his own, without any family accompanying him.
"That's rare... If only all mental patients were this cooperative."
As Lu Qiuyu read further, she saw that the attending physician was listed as Lu Mingyi.
Her eyes widened: "Dad?"
She never expected the record to be her father's, and this Guan Shan was his patient.
Feeling uneasy, Lu Qiuyu continued searching the rubble until she completed the medical record and discovered that the ID number for both Guan Shans was the same.
It was the same person!
"Guan Shan was hospitalized at Sacred Heart Hospital six years ago?"
Lu Qiuyu was confused: "But there's no record of his previous history here... Missing records, not entered into the electronic system?"
"But he clearly acted like it was his first time at Sacred Heart Hospital, even asking an orderly for directions. Was he acting?"
With her mind buzzing with questions, Lu Qiuyu looked around at her busy colleagues, realizing no one had noticed her discovery.
Taking a deep breath, she quietly slipped the medical record into her bag.
---
Guan Shan arrived home in the evening. Lin Wu had said Lin Shuman had left the documents on his table.
Guan Shan organized his things and then headed next door.
Standing at the gate, he looked at the brightly lit house, feeling a sense of normalcy.
He hadn't called Shen Dinghua on the way back, despite telling himself she wouldn't lie to him. His doubts remained, causing him to feel both nervous and afraid.
Afraid that if he made the call, Shen Dinghua, who he couldn't touch, would disappear...
"Ding-dong!"
Guan Shan took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
But it wasn't Shen Dinghua who answered; it was the old housekeeper.
"Please come in."
The old housekeeper opened the door and naturally led the way.
Guan Shan felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it.
Upon entering the house, he saw not only Shen Dinghua at the dining table but also two middle-aged people who looked at him!
Those were Shen Dinghua's parents.
Guan Shan: "..."
What do you do when you go to see your girlfriend and meet her parents instead? Urgent advice needed! Why didn't anyone tell him that Mr. and Mrs. Shen were back from their trip today?!
Guan Shan glanced past Shen's parents, seeing Shen Dinghua's innocent smile, though her eyes twinkled with mischief.